Leading business voices call for a People’s Vote

November 06, 2018 12:23 PM

Dozens of leading business and industry figures including the former Chairman of Marks and Spencer Lord Myners, Lastminute.com founder Martha Lane Fox and Terra Firma Vice Chair Justin King have today signed a joint letter calling for a People’s Vote on Brexit. It comes ahead of the launch later this week of a new campaign group, Business for a People’s Vote.

The letter, signed by more than 70 business figures, warns that the proposals being discussed by the Government and the European Commission are not as good as the current deal Britain has inside the European Union.

They say that uncertainty over the past two years has already led to a slump in investment, which makes Britain poorer.

Just last week manufacturing PMI fell to its lowest level since July 2016 – well below forecasts. The decline in new orders and employment in the manufacturing sector was linked to companies taking a defensive position and low business optimism related to Brexit uncertainty.

Business for a People’s Vote will be launched on Thursday with a panel discussion of business leaders who will talk through why they think that a ‘blindfold Brexit’ or a destructive 'Hard brexit' will be bad for business and jobs and why a People's Vote is the best option.

Calling for Parliament to hand back control of the Brexit process to the public through a People’s Vote, the letter states:

“We are now facing either a blindfold or a destructive hard Brexit. Both these options will further depress investment. They will be bad for business and bad for working people. Given that neither was on the ballot in 2016, we believe the ultimate choice should be handed back to the public with a People’s Vote.”

Lord Myners said:

“Any deal will be made from a position of weakness where we have surrendered our principal negotiating cards. It will be half-formed, casting a long shadow over business confidence, damaging investment and hurting both enterprises and their employees for years to come.”

/Ends.

Editor’s Notes

1. The full text of the letter is below:

The business community was promised that, if the country voted to leave, there would continue to be frictionless trade with the EU and the certainty about future relations that we need to invest for the long term.

Despite the Prime Minister's best efforts, the proposals being discussed by the Government and the European Commission fall far short of this, and they are not nearly as good as the current deal we have inside the EU. The uncertainty over the past two years has already led to a slump in investment, which will make our country poorer.

We are now facing either a blindfold or a destructive hard Brexit. Both these options will further depress investment. They will be bad for business and bad for working people. Given that neither was on the ballot in 2016, we believe the ultimate choice should be handed back to the public with a People’s Vote.

The People's Vote campaign is run by Open Britain. Your personal information is processed by Open Britain. For more details about how Open Britain uses your information and your data rights, click here to read our privacy policy.